Today we stand in a very transitional time where the world is engulfed in a health emergency, climate emergencies are a common phenomenon and governments of the nations are in a challenging situation be it t protect the life of their citizen or the economy.

In this trying time, there is every possibility that government of the day will be pushed enough to resort to an authoritarian diktat where tough measures will have to be taken in order to save life and livelihood. During these exercise of governance in an emergency, history tells us that governments tend to be autocratic which results in injustice at the grassroots. 

If we look back in the past, equally true is that in any long standing emergencies like war or social crisis like drought or famines, there are the looters and black marketeers who made a profit on the crisis making the government to crumble to their pressure or make them an accessory in the looting.

Democratic norms, rules, regulation and the voice of the people when crumbled citing an emergency – the basic fabric of the society is crushed, we do not progress forward as a civilisation but we go back to the primitive imperial days. 

It will be a great loss to this nation which has acquired freedom after a 100 plus years of struggle, but within 75 years of our freedom, if we are made to go to an ancient system of governance where one person decides our fate. Democracy is the only hope for a common man who can cast his vote to undo injustice, but if that is also taken off in the name of a health emergency or an economic crisis, a common man will be left to pray only and his vote will have no meaning to him.

Six months of extraordinary powers exercised by local administration has given a signal that our public representatives have to take control of the running of governance and not become a mute spectator to an administrative overture. Not to speak of becoming an accessory to a loot raj. Parliament is in session. Time to rule and not to be a mute spectator or try to mute the common man.